Strontium Reduction

Strontium is a chemical element with symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element that is highly reactive chemically. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is exposed to air. Strontium has physical and chemical properties similar to those of its two vertical neighbors in the periodic table, calcium and barium. It occurs naturally in the minerals celestine, strontianite, and putnisite, and is mined mostly from the first two of these.
While natural strontium is stable, the synthetic 90Sr isotope is radioactive and is one of the most dangerous components of nuclear fallout. The radioactive isotope is adsorbed by the body and replaces calcium in our bones and has high potential to cause cancer. Natural stable strontium, on the other hand, is not hazardous to health.
Both strontium and strontianite are named after Strontian, a village in Scotland near which the mineral was discovered in 1790 by Adair Crawford and William Cruickshank; it was identified as a new element the next year from its crimson-red flame test color. Strontium was first isolated as a metal in 1808 by Humphry Davy using the then-newly discovered process of electrolysis.
Most strontium metal produced is used to make other compounds.

Naturally occurring member of the hardness group of alkaline earth metals. Radioactive strontium 90 is a consequence of nuclear fission and accumulates in bones.